GTA – Michael Eats

Delicious Cream Puffs at Ian Cakery

Published on April 26, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1100 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.iancakery.ca/

I’ve mentioned before that, even now — years after they closed their only location in the city — I still regularly think about Beard Papa and their delicious Japanese cream puffs. Tragically, they used to at least have locations in Vancouver, but they’ve now apparently vacated Canada altogether.

(They are, however, still alive and well in Japan and elsewhere in the world — just not here, for some reason?? Come on, man.)

There are a few places serving a similar style of cream puff in the GTA, but I think the one at Ian Cakery might actually be the closest to what Beard Papa serves.

They have a few different flavours — I went with the classic vanilla, and man, it was good. The choux pastry has a nice crispy exterior, and the very generous amount of custardy cream within is seriously delicious.

I’m still longing for the day Beard Papa makes its triumphant return to the GTA (it’s gotta happen eventually, right???), but until then, I’m glad that Ian Cakery exists.

Stellar Diner Food at Susie’s Rise & Dine

Published on April 22, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 539 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://susiestoronto.com/

The crowds at Susie’s Rise and Dine are no joke — the first time I tried to visit, I told them I didn’t have a reservation and was told the wait would be something like two hours. Clearly, reservations are advised.

It’s in the style of an old-school diner, with the menu mostly consisting of brunch and diner standbys (with the occasional item having a bit of an Asian twist).

I tried a couple of things. First up: the tuna melt (“Japanese tartar sauce, malt vinegar pickled celery, sour cream & onion kettle chips, American cheese, served on griddled rye bread”). I wasn’t planning on ordering this, but the waitress said it was her favourite, so sure, why not?

The waitress was 100% right. Good god, that tuna melt. It’s almost certainly the best I’ve ever had. I know that it looks pretty standard (I mean, there’s not much you can do to gussy up a tuna melt), but trust me, it was obscenely good.

The contrast between the perfectly crispy bread and the creamy tuna (not to mention the extra crunch and flavour from the chips) is perfect, and the whole thing has an addictively zippy flavour that just works. It’s so satisfying.

Next up: The Big Trouble Breakfast Sandwich (“soft scramble, char siu glazed sausage, crispy hash brown patty, cheese, scallion milk bun”).

This was good, but after that mind-blowing tuna melt, there was really nowhere to go but down — and yeah, that’s where this went. All the components are quite nice and it’s an above average breakfast sandwich, but none of the flavours really pop and it feels like it’s missing something.

Some pickles or a sauce with some zip to it would really perk things up (though the sausage was quite light on the char siu glaze; it’s possible that more of that might have added the flavour that the sandwich was missing). Still, I didn’t dislike eating it, that’s for sure, but it couldn’t help but be a bit of a letdown after the tuna melt.

Tasty Hot Pot at Mabu Generation

Published on April 21, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1177 Central Parkway West, Mississauga
Website: https://mabugeneration.com/

Mabu Generation is a small chain (they also have locations in Markham and Toronto) that serves what they call Taiwanese fusion. Their specialty seems to be their “Taiwanese style mini hot pot.” Not so sure about that “mini” designation — I split this with one person and it was way more food than either of us needed. I’m pretty sure you can comfortably share this with three or even four people (making it a great deal at 26 bucks).

I went with the House Special Spicy Hot Pot: “Nappa cabbage, seafood mushroom, tomato, iced tofu, meat ball (pork), clam, quail egg, pork blood cake, pork blood, pork intestine, preserved vegetables, cilantro, sliced beef, luncheon meat.”

It’s a very enjoyable dish. It’s absolutely crammed with tasty stuff, and the Sichuan-peppercorn-infused soup has that satisfying spicy/numbing mala thing going on in spades. It could probably be spicier, but it’s got a decent enough kick. It’s quite good.

A Great Breakfast Sandwich at Kitten and the Bear

Published on April 20, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1414 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.kittenandthebear.com/

You wouldn’t think that Kitten and the Bear — an unassuming little bakery that specializes in scones — would serve one of the best breakfast sandwiches in the city, but hey, what do you know? They do.

They’re actually one block over from the breakfast sandwich amazingness of Dad’s Breakfast & Coffee, and they serve a breakfast sandwich that’s pretty much just as good (but with substantially less hype).

There’s just the one breakfast sandwich on the menu, the Egg & Cheese on a Scone: “Fluffy egg and aged cheddar on a fresh herb scone. Add peach & red pepper savoury jam or hot honey!” I went with the jam, which they make in-house.

Everything here just works: the sharp, gooey cheddar; the silky egg; the nice contrasting sweet and savoury punch of the jam; and especially, the amazing scone.

I mean, the place specializes in the stuff, so I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that the scone is stellar, but it really is. It’s delightfully buttery, with a nice crispy exterior, and an interior that really nails the fluffiness and substance that you want from a scone.

The quality of the egg, cheese, and jam is high enough that this would be a great sandwich even on lesser bread, but that scone really takes it over the top.

Tasty Noodle Soup at Ramen Takao

Published on April 19, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 111 Richmond Street West, Toronto (inside Chef’s Hall)
Website: https://www.instagram.com/ramen_takao/

Ramen Takao is a ramen joint in the Chef’s Hall; it’s a collaboration between Ramen Isshin and Ryu’s Ramen. I like both of those places quite a lot, so that seemed like a good sign.

They call their spicy miso ramen their signature dish (“bean sprouts / seasoned egg / spicy negi / pork belly”), so that’s what I went with.

It’s a very good bowl of ramen. Spicy ramen isn’t generally my first choice, but the spice level here is fairly well tuned — it’s got a nice kick, but it isn’t so aggressive that it overwhelms the other flavours in the bowl.

And the broth is quite flavourful, with a nice creamy richness and a satisfying meaty/seafoody flavour.

Everything else here is quite good; in particular, it’s topped with crispy tempura bits, which do a great job of adding some texture to the bowl.

As for the noodles, they’re right where you want them to be, with a perfect level of chewy heft.